September 6, 2026 Traditional

What does it mean to be called a saint? Most of us are quick to raise our hands when asked if we are sinners, yet we hesitate when the same invitation is extended to saints. But the Apostle Paul, writing in Ephesians 4, addresses the church not as a gathering of the merely well-intentioned, but as saints equipped for ministry, called to build up the body of Christ together. This sermon draws us into that tension between how we see ourselves and how God sees us, and challenges us to close that gap. Paul's vision is not a church of passive spectators but a community of gifted people growing into the full stature of Christ, no longer tossed around by deception and division, but grounded in something both demanding and beautiful: speaking the truth in love. That phrase alone is worth sitting with. Truth without love becomes a weapon. Love without truth becomes empty sentiment. Together, they form the foundation of a faith that is mature, courageous, and genuinely transformative. We are invited to ask ourselves whether we are growing into that kind of faith.